Beijing 2022 - Curling
Save for one appearance back in 1924, curling has been on the Olympic program since 1998, making it one of the newer sports at the Winter Games. That tournament back at the first-ever Winter Games in Chamonix, France, was male-only and included just three teams. The curling tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 will have men’s, women’s and mixed doubles draws. With the expansion of mixed doubles to 10 teams in 2022, 30 teams will compete in Beijing, the most ever.
Whatever the tournament, curling at the Games has traditionally been the domain of Canada, where the sport has long enjoyed widespread popularity. Canada leads in gold medals won (six) and in total medals (11) and has at least one gold medal in each event. The times may be changing, however.
Canada did win the gold medal in the Olympic debut of mixed doubles four years ago, but both the men’s and women’s teams failed to medal at the Games for the first time. It was the men of Team USA who knocked off the men of Canada in the semifinals, as the U.S. went on to win its historic first gold medal. That brings the U.S. medal total to two, and men’s skip John Shuster was there for both of them.
Shuster is back again leading his team’s gold-medal defense, while Tabitha Peterson returns on the women’s side but in a new position as skip. Chris Plys and Vicky Persinger will team up in mixed doubles, a fast-paced variant of curling that consists of teams of one man and one woman.
Curling in Beijing will take place at the National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube during the 2008 Summer Games, and now known as the Ice Cube after its transformation to host curling.
Updated on January 28, 2022.